For those of you who received your license in the last few years, how long was the wait between when NCARB sent your records to the state & receiving notice of your license being approved. In my case its Florida. Supposedly it has to go through a 3rd party consultant on the states end before the board takes a look at it.
I expected it to happen relatively quickly after NCARB took their 40 business days to go through their review process. While I know the hard part is over with, it's the only thing standing between me and a raise so my patience is thin.
t a z
Feb 12, 21 4:06 pm
Honestly, unless someone from Florida chimes in, your best bet is to see if there are public minutes for board meetings. Licensing topics are usually on the agenda. Maybe they process applications on a rolling basis? Maybe they do it quarterly in chunks?
Who knows! It's all very (very) state specific.
(Or if you get impatient, call the board and ask - at least to confirm your application has been received, is complete, and in the process of being reviewed.)
RJ87
Feb 13, 21 2:46 pm
I’d checked the meeting minutes before & it looked like the only folks that were required to be discussed at the meeting were those that replied in the affirmative to background questions. It didn’t mention other applicants. I spoke with someone on the phone & they said I just had to give the third party reviewer time to do their check. They didn’t have a
timeline for me though.
Josh Mings
Feb 13, 21 5:51 pm
It really depends on timing. The boards maybe meet once a month. I got mine a few days after NCARB sent everything over (took them over a month) but that’s only because the board just happened to have a meeting that soon.
RJ87
Feb 15, 21 10:00 am
In an effort to conclude the thread / provide an answer for anyone searching key words with a similar question later on: I called the state contact listed on NCARB's website & asked whether I should be expecting it relatively soon or in two months at the next meeting. I was told that their independent reviewer takes up to a few weeks depending on the case load at the time, but its on a rolling basis unless you reply in affirmative to one of their background questions or they require more information. So it wont be months, which is nice.
t a z
Feb 15, 21 12:24 pm
Nice!
One suggestion (while you're waiting) is to top off your experience hours. It's rather dumb that AXP requirements are tracked hourly and experience is tracked by calendar days. It's good to have at least 3 years logged just in case you think you may ever need reciprocity in another state (or if you plan on not paying yearly
NCARB renewal fees after initial licensure).
caramelhighrise
Feb 15, 21 7:55 pm
Can anyone explain what all happens behind the scenes? There seems to be a lot going on between finishing the ARE/AXP and getting that shiny stamp. A real response would be appreciated but I suppose a facetious remark in true Archinect style could be entertaining too.
natematt
Feb 15, 21 9:17 pm
You assume we would know what's going on behind the scenes in two organizations that none of us claim to represent?
I think many of the facetious remarks provided on this forum are both real and well deserved responses.
I myself got licenced fairly recently, and had a very interesting series of letters that I received from both NCARB and my local board that would almost suggest they were not in communication with each other until that very moment. It was almost like a comedy routine. Most of these letters resolved themselves when they sent each other information. It took like 2 months for me to get my license after my final exam... though I had to do a supplemental exam since I am in California.
midlander
Feb 15, 21 10:45 pm
you can literally ask the licensing board of your state. they are a public office and typically pleased to let people know how they work. you should be able to read through the meeting agenda and minutes to get a sense how things work. https://www.idfpr.com/profs/Boards/Architect.asp
RJ87
Feb 16, 21 10:59 am
In my recent experience, here's what i've gathered:
RJ87
Feb 16, 21 11:08 am
Well, I typed out a lengthy response but it didn't post. So in short: NCARB takes 45 business days or so to review your education / experience / exams & send it to the state. Then the state takes another few weeks (depending on caseload) to review the application you file with them & the information provided by NCARB. At this point I just have to chuckle about how long it takes.
mightyaa
Feb 16, 21 12:49 pm
Oh, and with some States, the licensing board only meets a couple times a month... And there are weird ones too; Covid, might change or cancel the meetings. My Hawaii license was delayed for the volcano eruption a couple years ago. TX also requires a criminal background check and fingerprinting. I think Montana required I send a form to every State I'm already licensed in where they need the Board to sign I'm in good standing... I'm licensed in 14 States, so that's a royal pita. And there's good ole CA where they have a supplemental exam. PA also had a questionnaire you had to answer correctly; pretty sure another State was like that too... and so on. So... it varies greatly. NCARB file transfer was the easy part.
RJ87
Feb 16, 21 1:29 pm
Thankfully, in Florida at least, you only have to wait for a board meeting if the applicant replies yes to background questions that require a board vote. Otherwise it's on a rolling basis. Otherwise I'd be waiting until the end of April. Our board only meets every 2 months.
mightyaa
Feb 17, 21 10:22 am
The only trick thing about FL is the CE. They have some specific State requirements requiring FL approved courses. If you are out of state, like me, that often means I don't have direct access and have to use a pay site for online credits. Not a big deal, but does mean I base my CE's around the FL requirements rather than my 'home plate' state of CO. You won't have to worry about that your first year though, and assuming you are in State, your local AIA has a bunch of opportunities. (my little sister and her husband are architects there).
caramelhighrise
Feb 16, 21 11:16 am
RJ87, your first comment is about how much I've gathered too!
Armen Tutundzhyan
Feb 16, 21 3:19 pm
NCARB took about a month to send the records to my state of California (this was pre-covid). Congratulations for coming this far & good luck on your final exams! It's great to be a licensed Architect!
RJ87
Feb 17, 21 11:56 am
Update: Officially an Architect. Got my license this morning, nice to finally be done with the process. All & all it took the state two weeks from receiving the info from NCARB.
mightyaa
Feb 17, 21 12:29 pm
Congratulations!
t a z
Feb 17, 21 1:08 pm
I just realized we are on similar timeline! NCARB sent my completed record to NY (3) business days after they released the score reports for the last (5) exam divisions after the cut score processing hold. Your last exam must have been PcM and you got results a week earlier? Or were you done with everything before the 14 Dec 2020 exam changes?
RJ87
Feb 17, 21 2:20 pm
I actually finished my exams last July, but I wasn't able to meet the hours requirements until mid December. I started my exams pretty quickly out of school. I figured life would only get in the way more & more as time went by, but mostly it just drove me nuts that I couldn't call myself an architect. NCARB took about 40 business days to send all of my stuff to the state after I submitted the last of my hours & the state took about 12 to wrap everything up.
RJ87
Feb 17, 21 2:22 pm
Also, congrats on finishing the process to you as well. I know how frustrating it is to wait for it to get cleared but its a relief to know the hard part of the process is out of the way.
t a z
Feb 17, 21 2:44 pm
Huh, interesting... By now you're already an old school architect having taken all the exams back in the ye olden days when writing implements were still allowed. Congrats again!
RJ87
Feb 17, 21 3:32 pm
You darn kids & your virtual white boards
ivanmillya
Feb 17, 21 3:25 pm
NCARB took their sweet time processing my record, but when they sent me the email saying that it was transferred to the Utah architectural board, they had my license number processed the same day I paid my fee.
For those of you who received your license in the last few years, how long was the wait between when NCARB sent your records to the state & receiving notice of your license being approved. In my case its Florida. Supposedly it has to go through a 3rd party consultant on the states end before the board takes a look at it.
I expected it to happen relatively quickly after NCARB took their 40 business days to go through their review process. While I know the hard part is over with, it's the only thing standing between me and a raise so my patience is thin.
Honestly, unless someone from Florida chimes in, your best bet is to see if there are public minutes for board meetings. Licensing topics are usually on the agenda. Maybe they process applications on a rolling basis? Maybe they do it quarterly in chunks?
Who knows! It's all very (very) state specific.
(Or if you get impatient, call the board and ask - at least to confirm your application has been received, is complete, and in the process of being reviewed.)
I’d checked the meeting minutes before & it looked like the only folks that were required to be discussed at the meeting were those that replied in the affirmative to background questions. It didn’t mention other applicants. I spoke with someone on the phone & they said I just had to give the third party reviewer time to do their check. They didn’t have a
timeline for me though.
It really depends on timing. The boards maybe meet once a month. I got mine a few days after NCARB sent everything over (took them over a month) but that’s only because the board just happened to have a meeting that soon.
In an effort to conclude the thread / provide an answer for anyone searching key words with a similar question later on: I called the state contact listed on NCARB's website & asked whether I should be expecting it relatively soon or in two months at the next meeting. I was told that their independent reviewer takes up to a few weeks depending on the case load at the time, but its on a rolling basis unless you reply in affirmative to one of their background questions or they require more information. So it wont be months, which is nice.
Nice!
One suggestion (while you're waiting) is to top off your experience hours. It's rather dumb that AXP requirements are tracked hourly and experience is tracked by calendar days. It's good to have at least 3 years logged just in case you think you may ever need reciprocity in another state (or if you plan on not paying yearly NCARB renewal fees after initial licensure).
Can anyone explain what all happens behind the scenes? There seems to be a lot going on between finishing the ARE/AXP and getting that shiny stamp. A real response would be appreciated but I suppose a facetious remark in true Archinect style could be entertaining too.
You assume we would know what's going on behind the scenes in two organizations that none of us claim to represent?
I think many of the facetious remarks provided on this forum are both real and well deserved responses.
I myself got licenced fairly recently, and had a very interesting series of letters that I received from both NCARB and my local board that would almost suggest they were not in communication with each other until that very moment. It was almost like a comedy routine. Most of these letters resolved themselves when they sent each other information. It took like 2 months for me to get my license after my final exam... though I had to do a supplemental exam since I am in California.
you can literally ask the licensing board of your state. they are a public office and typically pleased to let people know how they work. you should be able to read through the meeting agenda and minutes to get a sense how things work. https://www.idfpr.com/profs/Boards/Architect.asp
In my recent experience, here's what i've gathered:
Well, I typed out a lengthy response but it didn't post. So in short: NCARB takes 45 business days or so to review your education / experience / exams & send it to the state. Then the state takes another few weeks (depending on caseload) to review the application you file with them & the information provided by NCARB. At this point I just have to chuckle about how long it takes.
Oh, and with some States, the licensing board only meets a couple times a month... And there are weird ones too; Covid, might change or cancel the meetings. My Hawaii license was delayed for the volcano eruption a couple years ago. TX also requires a criminal background check and fingerprinting. I think Montana required I send a form to every State I'm already licensed in where they need the Board to sign I'm in good standing... I'm licensed in 14 States, so that's a royal pita. And there's good ole CA where they have a supplemental exam. PA also had a questionnaire you had to answer correctly; pretty sure another State was like that too... and so on. So... it varies greatly. NCARB file transfer was the easy part.
Thankfully, in Florida at least, you only have to wait for a board meeting if the applicant replies yes to background questions that require a board vote. Otherwise it's on a rolling basis. Otherwise I'd be waiting until the end of April. Our board only meets every 2 months.
The only trick thing about FL is the CE. They have some specific State requirements requiring FL approved courses. If you are out of state, like me, that often means I don't have direct access and have to use a pay site for online credits. Not a big deal, but does mean I base my CE's around the FL requirements rather than my 'home plate' state of CO. You won't have to worry about that your first year though, and assuming you are in State, your local AIA has a bunch of opportunities. (my little sister and her husband are architects there).
RJ87, your first comment is about how much I've gathered too!
NCARB took about a month to send the records to my state of California (this was pre-covid). Congratulations for coming this far & good luck on your final exams! It's great to be a licensed Architect!
Update: Officially an Architect. Got my license this morning, nice to finally be done with the process. All & all it took the state two weeks from receiving the info from NCARB.
Congratulations!
I just realized we are on similar timeline! NCARB sent my completed record to NY (3) business days after they released the score reports for the last (5) exam divisions after the cut score processing hold. Your last exam must have been PcM and you got results a week earlier? Or were you done with everything before the 14 Dec 2020 exam changes?
I actually finished my exams last July, but I wasn't able to meet the hours requirements until mid December. I started my exams pretty quickly out of school. I figured life would only get in the way more & more as time went by, but mostly it just drove me nuts that I couldn't call myself an architect. NCARB took about 40 business days to send all of my stuff to the state after I submitted the last of my hours & the state took about 12 to wrap everything up.
Also, congrats on finishing the process to you as well. I know how frustrating it is to wait for it to get cleared but its a relief to know the hard part of the process is out of the way.
Huh, interesting... By now you're already an old school architect having taken all the exams back in the ye olden days when writing implements were still allowed. Congrats again!
You darn kids & your virtual white boards
NCARB took their sweet time processing my record, but when they sent me the email saying that it was transferred to the Utah architectural board, they had my license number processed the same day I paid my fee.